Stuart Pearce claimed that one Arsenal star should have been sent off during the 3-0 win over Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday.
The Gunners fired a warning shot to their Premier League rivals in Cardiff, humiliating Enzo Maresca on his City debut to lift the first trophy of the English football season.
Riccardo Calafiori opened the scoring after just 23 seconds before Kai Havertz doubled the lead and captain Martin Odegaard tapped in the third minutes after the break.
It was a great game overall for Calafiori, who will be hoping this is a sign of things to come after two injury-disrupted seasons at the Emirates, but the left-back did have one very poor moment.
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With the score at 1-0, the Italy international challenged Abdukodir Khusanov for the ball in the box and went down, with Arsenal fans screaming for a penalty.
Referee Samuel Barrott instantly blew his whistle but gave a free-kick to City and booked Calafiori for simulation, with replays showing that the 24-year-old blatantly dived.
Former City player and manager Pearce, on commentary duty for talkSPORT, was left outraged by what he saw, saying: ‘Well, Khusanov went down very early, kept his feet away from it.
‘And it was nothing more than a pathetic dive, it really was.
‘Listen, if I was Calafiori and you look at the referee and you claim it’s a penalty, I’d give him a double yellow for that and get him off.
‘If you’re going to outlaw diving in the game… that was pathetic.’
Ultimately, it was a deserved win for Arsenal ahead of beginning their Premier League title defence this Friday against Championship champions Coventry City.
‘It was such an important game and an important test for us. It was to show our mentality after last season,’ Calafiori told TNT Sports post-match.
‘Amazing. It helps the team a lot when you score that early.
‘I try always to give a solution to my team-mates. The pass was unbelievable. Myles gave me the perfect ball. It’s 70% him and 30% me.
‘Christos was one of the best players on the pitch today. It’s close to perfection this kind of performance.’
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